Breakfast with Xolani Gwala

Ethnomusicologist and jazz musician Moreira Chonguica says when his music career kicked off, he realised that as an artist he needed to do more to integrate music to society.

In his endeavour to promote education, Moreira has started a campaign to renovate the National School of Music in Maputo, Mozambique.

I consider myself a privileged African musician

— Moreira Chonguica, jazz musician and ethnomusicologist

Moreira says when he was growing up as a student at the National School of Music, he never imagined taking up music as a career. But his experience at the school and exposure he received after his time there saw him follow up on his potential to become the celebrated jazz musician he is today.

I think the government at the time was very sensitive to culture, but they had no choice as well. There is country in the world that wasn't liberated because of culture

— Moreira Chonguica, jazz musician and ethnomusicologist

Describing to Nikiwe Bikitsha the extent in which the Mozambican government has supported the arts in the country, Moreira says that culture has such an integral role in Mozambique that the government has had to support the arts since the country's independence in 1975.

If you're a human being you can't live without culture. Culture is you

— Moreira Chonguica, jazz musician and ethnomusicologist

Moreira says society has evolved since Mozambique's independence in 1975, so government has also had to readjust how it supports the arts.

The government has created the Department of Culture and Tourism, which makes sense because culture and tourism go hand in hand